


Saplings

by MagalaBee



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Double Date, M/M, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:48:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25571599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagalaBee/pseuds/MagalaBee
Summary: As Ignatz carefully sketches the young tree's delicate leaves, he reflects about the things that matter most. Somethings, he realizes, have always been there. They've just been growing unseen until they became too large to deny.Collab one-shot!
Relationships: Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert/Dedue Molinaro, Raphael Kirsten/Ignatz Victor
Comments: 5
Kudos: 36





	Saplings

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was a special piece for me, it was collaborated with the wonderful artist Sunny! ( https://twitter.com/sunfloraas )  
> Please go check out their work, support the Ig/Raph agenda, and if you're also interested in collaborating me, then please contact me in DMs or on my Twitter ( https://twitter.com/MagalaMonster ) for more information!

Ignatz’s hand moved in careful, gentle motions over the paper. A stick of soft charcoal pinched between his thumb and forefinger, his eyes trained on the young leaves sprouting up from Dedue’s tree sapling. It didn’t look like a tree yet, but it would be someday, years from now. The leaves were so small, but they caught the setting sunlight in a way that exposed their thin, little veins. Nearly transparent… They were beautiful and fascinating. 

As he sketched the latticework of leaves and veins, there was a thick scent of herbs coming from the small kitchen across the apartment. Raphael laughed, loud and elated, and Ashe chuckled alongside him. They were making some kind of stew for dinner tonight, Ignatz wasn’t sure what.

The moment almost reminded Ignatz of his parents’ home… Long before jobs and double-dates and college, when his mother had made dinner every night. But there hadn’t been any laughter in that old house, his father was always sternly working on the newspaper crossword and his brother was always out late at soccer practice or some party or other.

This was so much better… a home, no matter how small, full of laughter and food and love.

“What kind of tree is it?” Ignatz asked, looking up from his hunched artist’s perch on the side of the armchair. An unconventional way to sit, but he had a good angle for reference and he didn’t want to lose the light. 

Dedue had been standing next to him the whole time, comfortable in his quiet. He smiled softly as he replied, “A Duscur lemon tree. My grandmother sent me viable seeds for the holidays last year, I germinated them myself.”

“That’s amazing, Dedue,” Ignatz chuckled. “But you have two green thumbs, I can’t say I’m surprised.”

Dedue shrugged. “She sent them to celebrate the engagement so that the tree will grow with our marriage.”

Ignatz smirked. Only three months ago Dedue and Ashe had gotten engaged, such a thoughtful gift had probably made Ashe cry. Ignatz looked over his shoulder at his own boyfriend, feeling his heart swell a bit as he did. It was hard not to feel just a little bit overcome by Raphael, no matter how long they’d been together. He was always full of such sunshine and earnest affection. They had been close since they were children and Ignatz struggled to imagine his life without that loveable blond bear beside him--

“So... uhm… h-how long did you know you wanted to ask him?” Ignatz asked quietly, his eyes still stuck on Raphael as he helped Ashe chop carrots to toss into the pot. Raphael laughed again, Ashe having made some small joke as they cooked. 

Dedue lifted an eyebrow, but he didn’t pry. As always, Dedue was the wisest of them all and seemed to know exactly what Ignatz was thinking. He smirked a bit and answered, “I didn’t wake up one morning knowing that I wanted to propose. I think I’ve always known I would be with Ashe,” Dedue explained. “It just… took root in me, until it had grown too big to be denied and I could see how substantial it was. A bit like the tree.”

Ignatz chuckled, still unable to tear his eyes away from Raphael and the way the evening sunlight caught his ruffled, unkept hair. Like a gilded halo. Saints help him, his boyfriend was stunning.

Ashed turned around, breaking the soft glow in the air as he called out, “Ok, the stew just has to simmer for half an hour, then we’ll be done!”

“Come sit,” Dedue offered. “You both have been on your feet in there for a while.”

Ashe went immediately to his fiancee’s side, standing on his toes to press a quick kiss to Dedue’s cheek. Raphael, on the other hand, sat in the armchair that Ignatz was sitting against and with one arm, swiftly pulled Ignatz backward into his lap. Energetically, he looked at the sketchbook. “That looks great, Ig, you’re really getting the hang of these charcoals, huh?”

Ignatz had gotten so used to this casual intimacy with Raphael that it didn’t make him blush anymore, not like when they had just started dating. It was simply part of what made Raphael so special, the way he could completely envelop someone in love. “Yeah, I think I like using them for light and shadow studies,” he commented with a smile, tilting his head to the side and tucking it against Raphael’s broad shoulder. He could faintly hear Raphael’s heart beating in his ribcage, and the steady rhythm brought him comfort.

“Well, you’re amazing,” Raphael said, matter-of-factly. “So your charcoals are gonna be just as good as your paintings, maybe even better.”

“Thanks, Raph.”

“So, what have you two been in here talking about?” Ashe asked, he had already taken up his usual posture, one arm around Dedue’s back, leaning into his lover slightly. His freckles were accentuated by his bright smile.

Dedue quietly caught Ignatz’s eye and smirked just a tiny bit before he answered, “Lemon trees.”


End file.
